Start with the size

Use the job to pick a size. The depths in this table are the most our Takeuchis in each size dig, not how deep those jobs have to go.

These are starting points. Inside each size, the models differ in width, depth, and how far the back of the machine swings out, and those differences decide which one fits your job site. When nothing on your job site is tight, any Takeuchi in the size will do the work, so pick by the depth you need.

When the way in is narrow

Measure the narrowest opening the machine has to pass through, and leave room on each side for the operator to steer.

• TB210R. At 2 feet 6 inches wide with its undercarriage pulled in, it is the only machine in our fleet narrower than a 3-foot gate. Its ROPS, the roll-over frame over the seat, folds down for a low opening. It is also the shallowest digger, at 5 feet 9 inches.
• TB216. It pulls in to 3 feet 3 inches, which gets it through a 4-foot gate, and it digs 7 feet 10 inches.
• TB230. In the 3 and 4 ton size, it is 4 feet 9 inches wide: 6 inches narrower than the TB235-2 and a foot narrower than the TB335R and TB240.
• TB250-2. In the 5 to 7 ton size, it is 6 feet wide, 7 inches narrower than the TB350R, TB260, and TB257FR, and it digs 8 inches deeper than the TB350R.

Once the TB210R or TB216 is through, spread the tracks back out before you dig. With the tracks spread, the machine sits on a wider stance and has better balance while it works.

When you are digging beside a house or a wall

When the upper part of an excavator turns, the back of the machine swings out past the tracks. Next to a house, a wall, or traffic, that is where it hits something. Takeuchi builds two kinds of machines that keep the back end close.

• Short tail swing: TB335R and TB350R. Takeuchi lists the TB335R’s rear overhang at 3.1 inches past the tracks and the TB350R’s at 2.95 inches, so when the upper part turns, the back end swings only about 3 inches past the tracks. The TB210R is a short tail swing machine too.
• Full rotation: TB257FR and TB280FR. FR is Takeuchi’s full rotation design. On the TB280FR, Takeuchi says the upper part turns nearly within the width of the tracks when the boom is stowed upright, and Takeuchi describes the TB257FR as rotating fully with very little overhang. Both FR models also have a side-to-side boom that moves the bucket to either side of center. Takeuchi builds that boom for tight job sites.

If the back of the machine will swing near a house, a wall, or a lane of traffic, start with one of these.

When depth matters

• TB240. It digs 11 feet 4 inches, the deepest of our 3 and 4 ton Takeuchis.
• TB370. It digs 13 feet 5 inches, the deepest of our 5 to 7 ton Takeuchis. At 7 feet 7 inches, it is also the widest of them.
• TB290 and TB280FR. Both dig 15 feet. The TB280FR adds the full rotation design for a tight job site.

Leave depth to spare. The listed dig depth is the most the machine can reach, and a trench with straight walls comes in shallower. Takeuchi’s spec sheet for the TB216 lists 7 feet 10 inches of maximum dig depth, but 6 feet 9 inches for a straight vertical wall. So avoid a model whose listed depth barely reaches the depth you need.

Every Takeuchi compact excavator in our rental fleet

These are the 13 Takeuchi compact excavators in our 2026 rental rate guide. The ton sizes are the trade’s shorthand and only approximate, so the weight in pounds is the number to go by. Width on the TB210R and TB216 is with the undercarriage pulled in.

Buying a Takeuchi

Every rental machine has a rent-to-purchase option, and we sell Takeuchi’s excavators new, including the larger ones above our rental sizes; the line runs up to 35,274 pounds. Takeuchi Fleet Management, Takeuchi’s telematics, reports fuel level, hours, performance, and maintenance alerts. Financing on new machines is available through Takeuchi Financial Services.

We stock Takeuchi parts, and our technicians service Takeuchi machines in our shops and on job sites. Our guide to Takeuchi parts covers what wears first.

What to tell us when you reserve

Tell us what you are digging and how deep, the narrowest opening on the way in, anything overhead along the route, and how close the machine will work to a house, a wall, or traffic. That lets us match the Takeuchi model to the job. Rentals do not include an operator, and our guide to how renting works covers hours, fuel, insurance, and returns.